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Summary of Atomic Habits

chrisbehan.ca

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Re: Summary of Atomic Habits

#31

Post by bittercynic »

baby wrote: post #13
azemetre wrote: post #2

Somewhat related but I find many nonfiction books could easily be condensed down an immense amount (talking 20 to 50% here). I don't know if it's me getting older or simply not wanting to put up with filler content anymore. A book that does this terribly is the "The Checklist Manifesto." ~250 pages of filler when the original article was 20 pages, the exact same information but distilled down to its essence: https://…

It highly depends on the book! A lot of these types of books are simple lessons with a LOT of fillers. IMO they are bad books. Most often, an author has a lot of things to say in their first book, but much fewer things to say in subsequent books, so first books are always a good bet. For example, “the subtle art of not giving a fuck” is mostly fillers, but books from robert greene or malcolm gladwell are always fille…

"The subtle art..." is one of the first books I think of re: filler, too, but I do think the filler can have value as a way to spend more time with a valuable idea. Many of these books contain some valuable idea that could have been completely explained in a couple of paragraphs, but then you wouldn't have a built-in way to spend a couple of hours with the topic to give it time to get a little deeper into your psyche.

In a way it's equivalent to packaging a small item in a larger box to make it easier to keep track of. Wasteful on the surface, but there's an undeniable value to it that would be hard to achieve more efficiently.

Re: Summary of Atomic Habits

#32

Post by stathibus »

santa_boy wrote: post #24

I've been having major issues reading books (mainly non-fiction and strategy and personal development oriented) due to what I feel to be "filler content" as mentioned in the thread above. I'd be very interested in authors (I mean book authors) to provide direction on the mindset and shortcomings of the summary culture (e.g. Blinkist et-al) Surely, every 10th article on my FB feed is about reading books and there is p…

In my view its an antiquated business model and there is no virtue in clinging to it as a writer or buying into it as a reader. Ideas are not better merely because they've been printed and bound. Most ideas in this genre can be (and are) expressed in a blog post, but the legion of middlemen in the publishing industry can't make money on blog posts. One of the ways publishers stick their fingers into this process is by demanding more material.

Re: Summary of Atomic Habits

#33

Post by antonvs »

baby wrote: post #13
azemetre wrote: post #2

Somewhat related but I find many nonfiction books could easily be condensed down an immense amount (talking 20 to 50% here). I don't know if it's me getting older or simply not wanting to put up with filler content anymore. A book that does this terribly is the "The Checklist Manifesto." ~250 pages of filler when the original article was 20 pages, the exact same information but distilled down to its essence: https://…

It highly depends on the book! A lot of these types of books are simple lessons with a LOT of fillers. IMO they are bad books. Most often, an author has a lot of things to say in their first book, but much fewer things to say in subsequent books, so first books are always a good bet. For example, “the subtle art of not giving a fuck” is mostly fillers, but books from robert greene or malcolm gladwell are always fille…

> For example, “the subtle art of not giving a fuck” is mostly fillers

A meta-lesson from the author perhaps, demonstrating his art.

Re: Summary of Atomic Habits

#34

Post by Trex_Egg »

bittercynic wrote: post #31
baby wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It highly depends on the book! A lot of these types of books are simple lessons with a LOT of fillers. IMO they are bad books. Most often, an author has a lot of things to say in their first book, but much fewer things to say in subsequent books, so first books are always a good bet. For example, “the subtle art of not giving a fuck” is mostly fillers, but books from robert greene or malcolm gladwell are always fille…

"The subtle art..." is one of the first books I think of re: filler, too, but I do think the filler can have value as a way to spend more time with a valuable idea. Many of these books contain some valuable idea that could have been completely explained in a couple of paragraphs, but then you wouldn't have a built-in way to spend a couple of hours with the topic to give it time to get a little deeper into your psyche…

That's a great way of putting things with your explanations.

Re: Summary of Atomic Habits

#35

Post by deepGem »

azemetre wrote: post #2

Somewhat related but I find many nonfiction books could easily be condensed down an immense amount (talking 20 to 50% here). I don't know if it's me getting older or simply not wanting to put up with filler content anymore. A book that does this terribly is the "The Checklist Manifesto." ~250 pages of filler when the original article was 20 pages, the exact same information but distilled down to its essence: https://…

I chime with this sentiment. The biggest issue in non-fiction books that I have is this - lack of a progress indicator. If it's a biography or an autobiography for example - I intuitively know the progress and this builds some sort of a curiosity to complete the book. In fiction, this is simulated by the story telling. You are almost always eager to find out what next.

In non fiction however, the lack of progress indicator combined with fillers totally takes away the what next phenomenon. On top of this, most non-fiction books try to convey the core of the meaning in repetitive language. Probably there is some science to this. The more you find repeated words sprinkled across, the more they tend to stick in your head. Apparently something that advertisers and marketers use all the time. So may be that's what drives this repetition and filler materials. I've seen this pattern in quite a few non-fiction books. Hooked, Deep Work, Grit etc.

Which is why I think, it's incredibly hard to pick a reading habit if you start with non fiction books. Also I don't think developing a reading habit with fiction will lead to a non fiction reading habit. Personal anecdote, I used to devour fiction as a teenager and in my early 20s. I remember reading Partner by John Grisham in one sitting, without even getting up to eat. Now I can hardly muster the energy to finish a book. I mean, I can but it's no longer that easy.

Re: Summary of Atomic Habits

#36

Post by Brajeshwar »

azemetre wrote: post #2

Somewhat related but I find many nonfiction books could easily be condensed down an immense amount (talking 20 to 50% here). I don't know if it's me getting older or simply not wanting to put up with filler content anymore. A book that does this terribly is the "The Checklist Manifesto." ~250 pages of filler when the original article was 20 pages, the exact same information but distilled down to its essence: https://…

Not just “getting older” but I’m sure you read a lot of other books of similar topics or genre. I find most books to share very similar ideas and topics narrated in different ways.

Reading more and more books will keep you prepared for the deja vu that happens when reading future books.

Now, I, either read faster till I hit something different or skip ahead.

Re: Summary of Atomic Habits

#38

Post by jcroll »

azemetre wrote: post #2

Somewhat related but I find many nonfiction books could easily be condensed down an immense amount (talking 20 to 50% here). I don't know if it's me getting older or simply not wanting to put up with filler content anymore. A book that does this terribly is the "The Checklist Manifesto." ~250 pages of filler when the original article was 20 pages, the exact same information but distilled down to its essence: https://…

There's a service I tried once called blinkist.com where they have a large library of books that they condense by summarizing them into a smaller package. As well, most books also come as audiobooks. I used it but found it was hard to come away feeling you had absorbed much from the books when they had been shortened the way they were. But yes, definitely other people feel the same way you do.

Re: Summary of Atomic Habits

#39

Post by senorsmile »

azemetre wrote: post #2

Somewhat related but I find many nonfiction books could easily be condensed down an immense amount (talking 20 to 50% here). I don't know if it's me getting older or simply not wanting to put up with filler content anymore. A book that does this terribly is the "The Checklist Manifesto." ~250 pages of filler when the original article was 20 pages, the exact same information but distilled down to its essence: https://…

I highly recommend listening to the whole book. The stories themselves are quite motivational (IMHO).

Re: Summary of Atomic Habits

#40

Post by itisit »

santa_boy wrote: post #24

I've been having major issues reading books (mainly non-fiction and strategy and personal development oriented) due to what I feel to be "filler content" as mentioned in the thread above. I'd be very interested in authors (I mean book authors) to provide direction on the mindset and shortcomings of the summary culture (e.g. Blinkist et-al) Surely, every 10th article on my FB feed is about reading books and there is p…

I question the value of services like Blinkist. If you reduce a book to a five minute gist, what does the reader gain? Maybe a "huh, neat" at best. What is remembered? Are there any lasting takeaways? Padding popsci nonfiction with anecdotes is as old as the genre itself. Comprehension requires time and variety, and all those stories and asides can help reinforce and round out the message.

If you're just looking for the point or thesis of one of these books to satisfy your curiosity, you obviously don't need to bother with however many hundreds of pages there might be, especially if you view reading as a chore.

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